In the past, I have written about diet culture & the challenges of weight loss maintenance. It’s no surprise that in 2019, diet culture continues to persist with the promise of easy, long-term weight loss success. While there is ample research that shows diets (i.e. a calorie deficit) result in weight loss, long-term adherence is challenging. Fad diets are difficult to maintain and eventually resumption of former eating habits is pretty much guaranteed. Subsequently, the weight returns, often more than the original amount lost.

The current diet trends aren’t actually new or cutting edge, just “recycled” versions of diets in years past. Remember Atkins? Currently rebranded as the Keto diet. The Keto diet has brought the return of the high fat, low carbohydrate meal plans. While this diet can certainly result in weight loss, long term maintenance of this diet is unsustainable & a long term low carbohydrate diet can have health consequences. Other diets such as Whole 30 & Paleo, cut out whole food groups, which automatically eliminates essential nutrients. Despite rebranding as “lifestyle” changes, they are in fact diets.

The best diet for a for a healthy lifestyle is really no diet at all. Consuming fruits & vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, nuts/seeds, plant oils & water is the way to go.

Yet, will you continue to gravitate toward the promise of quick weight loss? What are you willing to sacrifice in terms of your lifestyle & physical well-being in order to attain thinness? Ask yourself these 5 points (courtesy of Lisa Andrews, Med, RD, LD) the next time you decide to embark on the next fad diet.

Does this plan exclude one or more major food groups?

Would it be impossible to follow if you went out to eat or traveled?

Do you need to take a handful of supplements to meet your nutritional needs?

Is the meal plan short term or long terms? Can you sustain this way of eating?

What will the plan cost you? Not just in terms of financial cost, but consider your physical, mental & social health.

]]>http://www.merig.com/2019/03/06/youve-been-duped-again/feed/0http://www.merig.com/2019/03/06/youve-been-duped-again/Conflict Competencehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MeriwetherGodsey/~3/XBH_lJxoAN8/
http://www.merig.com/2019/03/05/conflict-competence/#respondTue, 05 Mar 2019 16:29:52 +0000http://www.merig.com/?p=13097Can you be kind, positive and gracious, and have conflict or need to share difficult feedback? Dealing with conflict in a constructive fashion is a form of kindness — to the parties involved, to the team, and to the organization. But, research shows that 95% of the workforce (that means each one of us) avoid difficult conversations. And…every avoided conversation costs 8 hours of productivity. Yikes, how do we do better? Conflict Competence is a skill to be developed. A growth mindset means believing you can improve your abilities. If you feel you “aren’t good” at difficult, honest, direct conversations – try again, you will get better at it. Talk to someone you admire in this regard. And, empower your team to do the same.

We all struggle with conflict, but the path to becoming conflict competent is to first adopt the right mindset, learn the skills and practice. With the right support system, a company can shift from a costly culture of avoidance to a prosperous culture of quick course-correction.

Leslie Phillips
CEO

]]>http://www.merig.com/2019/03/05/conflict-competence/feed/0http://www.merig.com/2019/03/05/conflict-competence/Brand Intelligencehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MeriwetherGodsey/~3/srBxfjsSrKc/
http://www.merig.com/2019/02/05/brand-intelligence/#respondTue, 05 Feb 2019 17:24:20 +0000http://www.merig.com/?p=13036We talk a lot about “brand” at MG. Lately, we’ve put even more focus on what that means because it’s way more than chef dude or interesting composed salads or signs on kraft paper. Yes, those are things we hope people recognize us for, but it’s way more. This article – What does your corporate brand stand for – reinforces why this is so important. Our brand is what we stand for and how others perceive we are doing with that (our reputation!). It’s critical that a company know their “brand core”: what do we promise and how do we express that?

We have ten core values, but they are all summed up in our overarching goal: to make a difference every day. From how we appreciate people to how we love food and our planet…this will never go out of style.

Leslie Phillips
CEO

]]>http://www.merig.com/2019/02/05/brand-intelligence/feed/0http://www.merig.com/2019/02/05/brand-intelligence/Be Curioushttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MeriwetherGodsey/~3/5g9I3H5yTD8/
http://www.merig.com/2019/01/02/be-curious/#respondWed, 02 Jan 2019 18:32:21 +0000http://www.merig.com/?p=12940As the holidays approach, friends begin to share pictures of their young children with Santa. These pictures are often touching and humorous, all at the same time. Their faces. Some scared, some excited, some curious. Children are curious. They ask a lot of questions like, “how does Santa fly around the world delivering all those presents with just a sleigh pulled by 8 reindeer?”

“Questions ‘ignite curiosity” (see my last post). And this article echoes that point.
When our curiosity is triggered, we are less likely to fall prey to confirmation bias (looking for information that supports our beliefs rather than for evidence suggesting we are wrong) and to stereotyping people.

The research maintains that if you start your day asking yourself, what is one topic I am curious about today vs. what is one thing I’ll complete today…you will be more innovative. So go ahead, be curious. Challenge YOUR status quo and invite your team to do the same.

Leslie Phillips, ESQ
CEO

]]>http://www.merig.com/2019/01/02/be-curious/feed/0http://www.merig.com/2019/01/02/be-curious/What’s Your Question?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MeriwetherGodsey/~3/7n_kMIeGakE/
http://www.merig.com/2018/12/04/whats-your-question/#respondTue, 04 Dec 2018 18:30:43 +0000http://www.merig.com/?p=12893We are taught at a very young age that having the right answers is really, really important. Since 1984, Alex Trebek (of Jeopardy!) has entertained millions of viewers who love hearing him ask questions for which there is a right answer. But life and work? Not so much. Both are full of….gray. Possible solutions, different approaches, and very little pure right or wrong.

So then, how do we let loose of having to have the answers? We ask questions.
Questions “ignite curiosity, which comes before solutions…The rehashing of old ideas produces stability at first and stagnation in the end.”
Use questions to share ideas and values. Questions like: what makes this important to you, what would you like to do about that, how can I help you?

]]>http://www.merig.com/2018/12/04/whats-your-question/feed/0http://www.merig.com/2018/12/04/whats-your-question/Metabolize Thishttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MeriwetherGodsey/~3/1vBi_wmg56w/
http://www.merig.com/2018/12/04/metabolize-this/#respondTue, 04 Dec 2018 18:24:17 +0000http://www.merig.com/?p=12887According to the latest editorials in lay papers, the puzzle of weight loss is one step closer to being solved. A new, complex research study has lead to promising headlines such as “A low carbohydrate diets leads to greater weight loss.”

Before you clear your pantry of carbohydrates, you may want to rethink your strategy. First, this was a study about body metabolism, not weight loss. Second, study participants dietary intake was carefully controlled & monitored, certainly not an accurate depiction of our westernized lifestyle.

Bottom line, more research still needs to be done to truly determine if we metabolize calories differently from fat, carbohydrates or protein. And as Dr. Katz so bluntly puts it “If you are a seeker of dietary magic, you aren’t going to like the answer: the people most successful at maintaining weight loss for the long haul eat sensible, balanced, carefully portion-controlled diets, and exercise routinely. “

]]>http://www.merig.com/2018/12/04/metabolize-this/feed/0http://www.merig.com/2018/12/04/metabolize-this/The Feelshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MeriwetherGodsey/~3/y74Zk0vnquY/
http://www.merig.com/2018/10/26/the-feels/#respondFri, 26 Oct 2018 16:03:11 +0000http://www.merig.com/?p=12652Lately across the MG globe, we have been taking extra steps to educate about the power of emotional intelligence (EQ). Seems it’s on a lot of people’s minds as we see, hear, and experience ourselves…strong emotions. This article provides yet another angle on how important EQ is:

In the past, it was thought that people with higher IQ would outperform people with lower IQ…(but), research showed that people with higher IQ outperformed people with lower IQ only about 20% of the time, while people with lower IQ outperformed people with higher IQ 70% of the time…Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize one’s emotions and the emotions of others and to manage those emotions to achieve more effective results. You could simply ask yourself, “In a moment of high or negative emotion, do I have my feelings or do they have me?”

]]>http://www.merig.com/2018/10/26/the-feels/feed/0http://www.merig.com/2018/10/26/the-feels/Food Policehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MeriwetherGodsey/~3/00QE2iIB-Is/
http://www.merig.com/2018/11/14/food-police/#respondWed, 14 Nov 2018 17:05:08 +0000http://www.merig.com/?p=12793Last month’s blog discussed how Intuitive Eating has completely changed the way I approach nutrition education with clients. Intuitive eating features 10 principles. I was reminded of Principle # 4 (Challenge the Food Police) when I came across this article titled “Guilt Free Foods are a Lie”. It’s no secret that food advertisers manipulate our emotions when selling their products: ‘”eat this, not that” “guilt free indulgence” the list is exhaustive. Advertisers have taught us to believe that food is a moral choice and sadly we have fallen for it. Many of my client session’s focus on the intense guilt felt when a “bad” food choice is made & how they want “do better next time.” We should nourish our bodies with good food because it makes us feel good, guilt should never be a motivator for healthy eating (and exercise). Food is essential for life; lets make peace it & enjoy every bite.

* Intuitive Eating Principle # 4 Challenge the Food Police. Scream a loud “NO” to thoughts in your head that declare you’re “good” for eating minimal calories or “bad” because you ate a piece of chocolate cake. The Food Police monitor the unreasonable rules that dieting has created. The police station is housed deep in your psyche, and its loud speaker shouts negative barbs, hopeless phrases, and guilt-provoking indictments. Chasing the Food Police away is a critical step in returning to Intuitive Eating.

]]>http://www.merig.com/2018/11/14/food-police/feed/0http://www.merig.com/2018/11/14/food-police/Approach Nutrition Differentlyhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MeriwetherGodsey/~3/7uVf_RLhmDE/
http://www.merig.com/2018/10/26/approach-nutrition-differently/#respondFri, 26 Oct 2018 15:51:50 +0000http://www.merig.com/?p=12649Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with many different types of clients as they journeyed toward weight loss & wellness. I was self-motivated to eat well & exercise, so I made the naïve assumption that empowering people with knowledge would naturally lead to better choices and hence weight loss. Sadly, this assumption has been proven wrong time and time again in my personal experience. The great majority of clients actually possess quite a bit of nutrition knowledge, however, knowledge does not always translate into action. A person struggling with obesity does not want to be told how to count calories when they have been doing it unsuccessfully for years. There are actually many examples of this “preaching to the choir” type nutritional education, but at some point in my career, I assumed that perhaps I just wasn’t teaching them right & nevertheless, I persisted.

My epiphany came when I attended an eating disorders conference and learned about Intuitive Eating. Intuitive Eating is an evidenced-based, mind-body health approach, comprised of 10 Principles and created by two dietitians, one of whom lead the conference session. I walked away from this conference feeling completely inspired and ready to change the way I approach nutrition education. The transition to an intuitive eating approach has not been easy; changing your relationship with food and your body is certainly scary. And despite my best attempts I still get many requests for “strict meal plans” and “tell me what to eat since I don’t trust myself.”

To date, my most successful outcome was with an overweight client who learned to love herself. While she may not have lost many pounds on the scale, she learned how to embrace her genetic blueprint & focus on the strength of not only her body but also her mind. “Healthy” eating & exercise” came as a natural consequence to the more internal changes she made in her life.

Lastly, I wanted to share these points made by an RD who embraces the philosophy of Intuitive Eating.

Enjoy food..all food

Tap into your intuition and listening to what you need. If that means that meal prep stresses you out or you have to choose to take a nap over going to the gym, that’s ok!

Believe that people of all shapes and sizes can be healthy and that you don’t need to lose weight in order to improve your health

Believe that you can feel calm and confident around food without counting calories, weighing or measuring anything

Believe that in order to truly heal your relationship with food, you have to completely leave nutrition out of it (at least to start with)

Believe that any kind of external factor including diets, meal plans or calorie restriction of any sort will result in diet backlash including guilt, shame, stress, overeating and binging.

Don’t believe that it is your lack of willpower that has caused you to “fail” at dieting or losing weight (hint: it’s the diets fault)

Don’t believe that there is any good diet

Don’t believe in shaming people into making changes to their eating

]]>http://www.merig.com/2018/10/26/approach-nutrition-differently/feed/0http://www.merig.com/2018/10/26/approach-nutrition-differently/Is your road blocked?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MeriwetherGodsey/~3/tbkZ1iZGMiI/
http://www.merig.com/2018/09/27/is-your-road-blocked/#respondThu, 27 Sep 2018 15:23:32 +0000http://www.merig.com/?p=12206End of summer, start of school. What’s one thing that changes almost overnight? You got it, traffic.
Add to that a 15% increase in spending on asphalt pavement (compared to last year) under the recent federal budget agreement, and you may have really bad traffic and even a few roadblocks.

As we “open for business” everywhere across the MG globe, there is an almost endless list of repairs, improvements, fixes, needs — from staffing to signage. It’s not just this year, it’s every year. Remember to breathe (and deeply 3 times). Slow down to speed up. Strive to be the calmest, clearest, kindest voice and head in the kitchen. And, take a moment to examine your roadblocks. They may be exactly what you need.

“Difficulty doesn’t have to be a roadblock. It may just be an opportunity to find a better way to go.”
Mimi Weaver (Owner, GraceMoves)